1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector used for connecting wire harnesses together, and more particularly to a connector of the type in which an insertion force, required for connecting connectors together, is quite low, and besides the connecting operation can be effected easily.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-72267, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 shows a related low-insertion force connector 50 disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 10-302909. A housing 71 of a block connector 70 is held between a pair of housings 61 of an opening-closing connector 60, so that electrical contact portions 62a of terminals 62, exposed to inner surfaces of the housings 61 of the opening-closing connector 60, are contacted respectively with electrical contact portions 72a of terminals 72 exposed to outer surfaces of the housing 71 of the block connector 70, thereby electrically connecting the two connectors together.
Thus, the opening-closing connector 60 and the block connector 70 are connected together by holding the housing 71 of the block connector 70 between the housings 61 of the opening-closing connector 60, and any inserting or fitting operation, involving a sliding movement between the two connectors, is not required.
When an inserting or fitting operation, involving a sliding movement between the two connectors, is effected, a predetermined insertion force is required for connecting the two connectors together since there is involved the friction due to the sliding movement between the two connectors.
However, in the low-insertion force connector 50 of FIG. 7, the required insertion force is extremely low since any inserting or fitting operation, involving a sliding movement between the two connectors, is not necessary.
In this low-insertion force connector 50, the housing 71 of the block connector 70 is held between the housings 61 of the opening-closing connector 60, and the housings 61 of the opening-closing connector 60 are held in a closed condition, so that the electrical contact portions 62a of the terminals 62 are contacted with the electrical contact portions 72a of the terminals 72, respectively, thereby electrically connecting the opening-closing connector 60 and the block connector 70 together. Then, lock claws 73, formed on the housing 71 of the block connector 70, are engaged respectively in lock frames 63 formed on the housings 61 of the opening-closing connector 60, thereby holding the opening-closing connector 60 and the block connector in a mutually-connected condition.
Thereafter, the opening-closing connector 60 and the block connector 70 are fixedly secured or fastened to an auxiliary equipment (not shown) by bolts (not shown) or the like.
In the above low-insertion force connector 50, in addition to the lock frames 63 and the lock claws 73 for holding the opening-closing connector 60 and the block connector 70 in the mutually-connected condition, fastening means (not shown), such as bolts and lock plates, for fastening the connectors 60 to 70 to the auxiliary equipment are required. Therefore, the construction becomes complicated, and the number of the component parts increases, which has invited a problem that the cost increases.
The operation for connecting the opening-closing connector 60 and the block connector 70 together, the operation for holding the two connectors 60 and 70 in the mutually-connected condition, and the operation for fastening the connectors 60 and 70 to the auxiliary equipment must be carried out sequentially separately from each other. Therefore, the time and labor, required for the connector-connecting operation, as well as the number of the component parts, increase, which has resulted in a problem that it is difficult to enhance the operation efficiency and to reduce the cost.